Mass Effect: 1 Fan
by xenowriter
Summary: Fic requested by Sandra. Halloween theme. Shore leave leaves the crew to a Halloween party on the Citadel. There, Jane Shepard meets her number one fan.


#1 Fan

Requested by: Sandra

A slight pause to observe the atrium of the Citadel near C-Sec made Jane feel more at peace. It had been several weeks since the end of Sovereign and she had endured many fierce battles with the Geth incursions that followed. There was much needed relaxation and with the Geth pockets dwindling out, she didn't feel guilty in granting a few days of shore leave. "Glad to be back…" She sighed happily to herself. With a spacer background, she never thought she would dread going back on a ship. Growing up, she was constantly on this craft or that craft while her mother was in the Alliance. The families were kept on the actual starships or random space ports. With humanity's reach beyond the Sol system, Alliance families were not as stationary as those centuries ago on Earth. There was dispute in keeping the families so far away on Earth military bases. Even though, the Citadel was not terra firma, it still felt like home to her compared to the Normandy sometimes.

"What's first on the agenda? I think celebrations are overdue, Commander." Joker perked up beside her. "I mean, you did save the Citadel after all."

"And the Council." Ashley chimed in warmly, flashing her brown eyes her way.

"What do you humans do for celebrations?" Wrex asked.

"We, uh, party." Joker smiled. "Ashley and I already scoped out an event and get this, it's happening tonight!"

"Lay it on me." Jane chuckled. She was game to their idea. Her crew was right. It was time to celebrate. She had been serious for far too long.

"Well, Shepard," Ashley pulled up her omni tool. "The human ward, Norway, is having a Halloween bash.

"They are having costumes, bobbing for apples, free food and beer."

"Costumes?" Jane cringed a bit. She was never the one to get dressed up for fun. "Joker, I- "

Jeff held up his hand to stop her. "Easy, Commander. Trust me. I got this. I already told them we are coming, and they were ecstatic to know that the first human Spectre, Commander Jane Shepard, was making an exclusive special appearance. They will set up photo opportunities, interviews and autographs."

"Ugh…thanks, Joker." Jane facepalmed. "It would have been best if I just showed up."

"Ahem…hence the free food and booze." Joker chided. "I had to do something." The pilot smirked devilishly. "You can't disappoint the fanboys."

Jane kept her hand on her face and groaned. This was not her idea of shore leave. "You had to go there…"

"Like your old friend, Conrad." Wrex chuckled, remembering their first run in with the blonde star crazed man.

"Who could forget someone like that?" Garrus teased with a smirk on his avian face. "I'm sure he will be there…first in line."

Shepard teasingly glared at the turian with her green eyes. "Laugh it up, Vakarian."

"What?" Garrus chuckled. "I'm sure you can hold your own against them."

"Wait a minute. Where are you guys going?" Jane shook her head. "Hey, I'm not walking into this thing alone." Her green eyes lit up as an idea jumped out at her. "I'll hit the vendor nearby to pick up a costume. That way, nobody will recognize me."

"Where's the fun in that, Commander?" Joker pouted. "Besides, they have to see you."

"What time should we meet up?" Garrus asked the group with interest.

"Well the party starts at ten tonight, Earth time. Sometimes around then?" Joker suggested. "We can meet up at Shepard's place. After all, she gets the cushy apartment on the Presidium."

"One of the perks of being a Spectre." Jane boasted with a wide grin.

Joker turned his head to address their turian friend once more. "Just have fun, Garrus."

The statement confused Vakarian. Why was he being called out? "Why say that?"

"Just don't be a tight ass. Remember, you're not with C-Sec anymore. I don't want you pointing out who is breaking the law."

Ashley giggled. "He has you there, Garrus."

Jane smiled at their friend. She could almost see a small discoloration on the sides of his face. Was he blushing? She didn't know if the stern turians could do such a thing. She decided to take the attention off him before he boxed himself in. "We all decided then? Everyone going?"

"Hell yeah!" Ashley cheered. "I'm down for free booze."

"Williams, limit yourself." Jane shook her head playfully. "I don't want your mug plastered on the Citadel News Net."

The repeating door chime stirred Jane out of her slumber in her bed. She was still holding the pillow in her arms as she groggily lifted her head up. Her red hair draped over her face. "Huh?"

Several raps at the door followed the chime and then the recognizable voice of Jeff Moreau on the opposite side. "Hey, Shepard! You in there?"

"What time is it?" Jane glanced over at her holo alarm clock to see it read 21:00. She didn't remember laying down. How long was she out? She thought she set her alarm, but maybe she didn't. Was her body that exhausted? Why was Joker there so early? She stumbled out of the bed to fetch her pants. "Hang on!" She called. Slipping her pants back on and fixing her shirt and hair, she swiftly moved to the door. "Joker, why are you- "She froze when she saw the sight in front of her. Joker stood there in a pretty much plain Dracula costume. His fake implanted fangs shined as he smiled big to show them off. Accompanying him was Ash dressed up as a fairy, Garrus in some sort of makeshift outfit that she couldn't place and Wrex in the same clothing that he arrived on the Citadel with.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Joker moved past her without asking to enter the apartment. "These babies were going fast." He motioned to his fangs. "I haven't dressed up like this in years." He stopped and pivoted around to look at her with a disappointed look. "Um, you going in that?" He motioned to her disheveled tank and sweats.

Jane stepped aside to allow the others in. "The party doesn't start until ten you said," She groggily reminded him with a yawn.

"You can't go to the party doing that." Ashley caught on with a smile. Glitter covered her face and costume. Her fairy costume comprised of a light-yellow outfit that flowed down her arms and legs to about her knees. See-through light fabric wings were on her back. The brunette noticed that Jane's eyes rested on her longer to make out her outfit. "Hey, I know." She pointed to her costume. "Sis wanted me to do this. She always loved fairies and told me I was too much of a tomboy. She didn't think I would do this." She giggled. "Proved her wrong, didn't I?"

Jane smiled back at her Chief Gunnery Officer. "You do seem to surprise me, Ash. I'm glad that you and your sister are still close."

"The Williams girls will always be."

Shepard let her eyes move over to Garrus. The former C-Sec officer appeared to be uncomfortable in his attire. His eyes evaded hers and his fingers wrung together. He appeared to be shy and embarrassed. She couldn't help but to smile at him. For a moment, he almost appeared to be cute. She never thought in a million years that she would have a thing for aliens, even after the loss of Kaidan, but something about her turian companion made her feel at home. "Garrus?" She lifted an eyebrow to finally address him. "Explain."

Garrus stood up straighter with his shoulders square as they could be and cleared his throat. "I'm a…merc." He pointed to the Suns tat on the right side of his neck. "Ashley painted on the tattoo. She said that it will drive the women wild." His blue eyes captured hers briefly, before scurrying away once more. "I, uh, would have preferred to just go as myself."

"Where's the fun in that, Vakarian?" Ashley shook her head. She playfully nudged Jane with a comforting look and a wink. "He looks good, right, Shepard?"

Jane felt herself blushing slightly as everyone looked at her. "Of course." She stammered haphazardly. She then looked over at Wrex. "Where's your costume?"

The dark yellow skinned krogan shrugged indifferently. "Krogan don't get dressed up. Sounds weak like the Salarians." His yellow reptilian eyes glanced Garrus' way. "Surprised you went along with, Vakarian. Thought the turians were tough."

Garrus bantered back, "You scared, Wrex?"

Joker nudged Jane towards her room. "Go get dressed."

Jane planted her feet to keep him from moving her too much. "Careful, Joker. I think it's against policy to push your superior officer. I could have you reprimanded."

"Yeah, yeah. Party first, put me in the brig after." Joker waved her on.

A crowd ahead of the group formed as more and more residents were making their way to the party. "Ugh! Look at this!" Joker complained as he pointed them out. "I knew we should have left sooner. There goes the free booze." He glanced back at Shepard in frustration. "Thanks a lot, Shepard."

"I'm sure they will save you some," Ashley consoled him playfully.

"They better. I did save their asses." Joker grumbled. He then raised his voice to call to the ones in front. "You're welcome!"

"Too bad Liara is missing out on this." Wrex commented as he walked behind Ashley and Joker.

"Yeah. She said she had things to do. So much for comradery?" Jane brought up lightheartedly as she stuck behind the burly krogan. Garrus was at her side and she felt herself becoming nervous. Why was she feeling this way? They were in closer spots before than this and she never got so tense. Was it the aftermath of the war? "I know Tali said she had to get back to the Migrant Fleet to present her gift and complete her pilgrimage. The Quarians sure are serious."

"And boring." Wrex added.

"I'm truly surprised there, Garrus," Shepard teased at him. "You going to the dark side now?"

"The what?" His mandible twitched in confusion.

"Earth movie about two centuries back. Star Wars?" She felt foolish for making a human reference. It was hard to get a connection with another species; especially Garrus. The only thing they seemed to share were their past battles together and their hatred for Saren.

"Uh…" Garrus nodded politely. "What's it about?"

"I, uh, will tell you about it later. It's too much right now." Jane felt her fingers clasping together in embarrassment. So much for being smooth. "You like being a merc?"

The question seemed to almost choke up the turian and he chuckled through breaths. "If you like living primarily on Omega. Hmm…who knows what may happen once this is done."

"Oh? You taking a trip?"

"You wouldn't last there, Vakarian." Wrex called back to him as he overheard their private conversation.

"You never know." Garrus replied. His voice trailing off. Was he seriously contemplating the idea of visiting the asteroid station at some point? Shepard herself never been there, but she heard rumors about it. A station that was the polar opposite of the Citadel. Mercs and slavers thrived, and its ruler was Aria T' Loak. A fierce and loathed Asari. No one seemed to dare cross her.

Finally reaching the ward that housed the party, C-Sec guards recognized Shepard and her team and quickly rushed to them. Eddie Lang was the only that Jane noted. "Okay. It may be kind of maddening, so we may need- "

"Oh my God! There she is! It's Shepard!" A young woman's voice shrilled with excitement beyond C-Sec's checkpoint.

"It's her!" Another male exclaimed happily. More and more voices yelled, and a sea of party goers flooded the checkpoint, making their way towards the group.

"Shit! Here we go!" Lang motioned to the other officers. C-Sec patrols moved in to keep the crowd back to allow Shepard and her team to move forward. Fans pushed against one another as they desperately reached out to even touch the famed Spectre. Many calling out her name to grab her attention. Reporters at the event were pushing their way through the star crazed fans to try to be the center of attention, hoping to get the best scoop.

The entire scene was overwhelming to Shepard and she tried to hide the look of panic on her face. She faced Geth, mercs, husks, a Thorian and a giant Reaper, but fans were starting to scare her. She tried to wave to quiet them down, but C-Sec ushered ahead, preventing her to move her arm too much at the moment. She was completely encircled by C-Sec officers and lost sight of her crew. Where did they go? She huffed to herself. Just like them to ditch her like this. She made a mental note to kick Joker's and Ashley's ass to even suggesting this. Defeated, she allowed herself to be guided by C-Sec to where the organizers of the event were waiting to get her setup for whatever activity they had planned. She just hoped this didn't drag out.

Wrex glanced around to scope out of the party. Not to his tastes. Everything was so non-violent, non-krogan like. A few patrons looked his way and then scurried off. Not like he really blended in. From the looks of it, he was the only krogan around. Shouts coming from his left caught his attention. Pushing through the crowd, he came upon several humans in line as the one in front was bent over a tub filled with water. Several red round objects were in the water. The male human's face was moving around under the water, coming up to breathe and then back to the water again. Spectators cheered him on and laughed in amusement. The entire event didn't really impress Wrex; in fact, it confused him. "Why is that human trying to drown himself?" He asked the male human beside him.

The older male was a bit skittish to see the large krogan standing beside him. "He's not!" His voice elevated to speak over the noise of the crowd. "It's called bobbing for apples! You have to try to get as many apples as you can!"

"That all?" Wrex shook his head in disappointment. Continuing to push his way through. He shoved the man actively participating to the side. "Move over, human. Let me show you how a krogan does it." His sudden appearance made a hush over the crowd and many around began to whisper to each other, alarmed that a krogan was even there. Sticking his head down, Wrex opened his large mouth and scooped up several of the apples inside. He used his sharp incisors to bite down, tearing the fruit to pieces inside as he lifted his head back up. He silently chewed his food, and then scrunched his nose after tasting the sweet juices. Spitting out the apple bits on the floor and onto several of the unlucky people nearby, he gagged and wiped his mouth hastily with his hand. "How can you eat that varren spit?"

Jane sighed tiredly as she sat at her makeshift booth, flashing a fake smile to the next person that came up to her in the line. Her eyes looked at the line to see the numbers not dissipating. Was it even growing? Just how long had she been there? When it would be finally her time to have fun? As soon as she met the organizers, she was ambushed by reporters for a few seconds of questions, followed by a brief photo opportunity. The night was dragging on. She just wanted to curl back in her bed. Instead, she was tasked to sit there and sign autographs. Watching the salarian in front of her walk away with a huge excited smile on his face, Shepard shook her head. "What am I doing? I'm Commander Shepard. I don't have to sit here like this." She pushed herself away from the table to politely end the night but stopped abruptly when she heard a familiar turian cough in front of her.

"It's my turn." Garrus smirked with a wink as he stood before her.

"Garrus," She was taken back by his action. How long was he standing in line to get some time with her? How the hell did she not see him?

"I hope the famed Commander Shepard has time to give an autograph to her truly number one fan."

Jane felt her body tremble from his words and she slowly sat back down, her eyes never leaving his. Her heart raced rapidly. Realizing what was happening to her, she broke from his gaze and cleared her throat. "Um, sure. Of course." She clumsily picked up her pen and one of the photo copies of her. Trying to keep her hand steady, she signed her name. The medial task was more difficult than usual. Without even looking at him, she could feel his eyes on her. What an unexpected twist to the party!

"Ugh! I ate way too much!" Joker whined as the group left the party a few hours after their arrival. "Why can't we get decent food like that on the Normandy?"

"Because the Alliance pays for it." Jane teased. "You eat like that all the time and you may get fat."

"Quit complaining, Joker. You had a wonderful time. Admit it." Ashley's words were slurred, and Jane noticed that the Chief Gunnery officer was staggering a bit in her step.

"You okay, Williams?"

"Yes, mam. I'm fine. Just…uh." Ashley groaned and held her head. "Just a little too much to drink."

"A little?" Joker held in his bout of laughter. "Chugging one beer after the other more like it."

"Human parties are too boring." Wrex commented. "The food was lousy, and nobody was fighting."

"I didn't know krogan knew how to party." Jane smirked back at him.

"We do…a few headbutts…maybe one death if it gets really good."

Jane noticed that Garrus was hiding the photo that she gave him. She playfully grinned over at him. "I don't know, Wrex. I had a fun time despite the crowd. I met my number one fan."


End file.
